WBW78 Recap — A lot of Wine Blogging Folk Got Their Viggy On!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the 78th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday. And… a virtual tip ‘o the hat to Wine Blogging Wednesday organizers Lenn Thompson and Tim Elliott for providing this forum for us to get our viggy on. I appreciate your patience, as I am tardy with posting this recap.

In case you stumbled across this blog as a result of a random Google search (based on very questionable meta tags) or got lost on the interwebs and found your way here, Wine Blogging Wednesday is a monthly virtual gathering of wine blogging folks to learn and share opinions on a particular wine/varietal/subject. As the host of this month’s WBW, I selected a grape that I’m particularly fond of — Viognier.

Unfortunately, some of my serious wine friends have yet to find their Viognier palate, and alas are not fans of this aromatic white hailing from the Rhone. Thankfully, Viognier does have a lot of fans that joined in for WBW78…

Participants opened 29 bottles of Viognier for WBW78 — including seven from Virginia and California, and eight from Australia.

Getting My Viggy on with Fess! from Alleigh at A Glass After Work. Despite her challenging relationship with Viognier, Alleigh joined us on June 20th and opened a bottle of Fess Parker Viognier from Santa Barbara County, CA. Alleigh found the Fess Parker Viognier “delightful summer white that will be perfect for Friday evenings up on our roof deck.” A Viognier and Wine Blogging Wednesday success story! 🙂 (On Twitter: @Alleigh )

Got My Viggy On Three Ways. My contribution to WBW78. We opened two Virginia Viogniers — one from Keswick Vineyards and one from Chester Gap Cellars — along with my first Viognier from the state of Washington. (On Twitter: @DrinkWhatULike )

We also had some international participation this month from our neighbors to the north — Bob from 2001 Bottles blog opened three Viogniers for WBW78. Bob covered the map for WBW by opening a Yalumba Viognier from Australia, one from France and one from Canada’s Okanagan Valley. Look forward to more posts from the Australia trip, Bob. Hopefully you made it to Adelaide Hills. I still have unfinished posts from my trip nearly two years ago. 😦 (on Twitter: @2001Bottles)

From across the Atlantic Pantagruelic blog from Lisbon, Portugal opened the only Portuguese Viognier entry — the Ataide Semedo. This is new to me and would certainly like to try.

My favorite Walla Walla Wine Woman, Catie McIntyre joined us from Washington with another Washington Viognier — the Robison Ranch Cellars Viognier. I checked my local shops and unfortunately there is no Robison Ranch to be had here in my corner of Virginia. As Catie notes, even in Washington State we can also be “gettin’ Viggy wit’ it!” Agreed. (On twitter: @Walla2WineWoman)

Also from the west coast, Brix Chix Liza got her viggy on four ways by opening a Spice Route Viognier from South Africa and three California Viggys — Twisted Oak Viognier, Route 128 Viognier, and one from Phoenix Ranch. South Africa is not an area I would normally associate with Viognier, but goes to show the versatility and appeal of this grape, which is great to see. At just $15.20 a bottle (club price, $19 for other folk), that Twisted Oak from California’s Calaveras County is definitely worth checking out (can order online here), or, find a Twisted Oak club member to pinch a bottle from (kidding… 😉 ). (On Twitter: @BrixChick_Liza )

Gwen, the Art and Wine Predator, opened two Viogniers from California — a bottle of Rosenblum Kathy’s Cuvee and a bottle of Zaca Mesa Viognier — and paired them with an excellent looking meal including clams and a beet salad (see Gwen’s post for the beet salad recipe). (On Twitter: @ArtPredator )

Anatoli from Talk-A-Vino opened two Viogniers for WBW78 — the Les Vines de Vienne from France and a bottle of Yalumba Viognier from Australia. Given the $12 price point and positive comments about this wine, I’ve added Yalumba Viognier to buy list. (On Twitter: @TalkAVino )

Debbie, the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, opened a bottle of Goosecross Viognier from Napa Valley. In her post, Debbie admits that she came all the way to Virginia for TasteCamp and didn’t take any Virginia Viognier home – boooo. Every wine rack needs at least one bottle of Virginia Viggy! Sounds like I need to send a bottle to Debbie. 🙂 (On Twitter: @HVWineGoddess )

Last, but certainly not least, Lisa the Wine Muse from down under shared five Australian Viognier reviews. (On Twitter: @TheWineMuse )

I believe I have captured all of the WBW78 entries, but I am human and could have missed one. If you know of a WBW78 Viognier post that I missed, please leave a comment here or email me. My apologies in advance if I missed your post.